Using effective fat loss workouts is second only to eating well with respect to lasting weight loss. This is because they work synergistically; they reinforce each other.
After all, although we enjoy its results, most of us don’t like exercising. It’s much easier to be lazy.
So, when we make ourselves do fat loss workouts, it’s natural to want to maximize the benefits from our efforts. It’s foolish to work out in the gym and then go eat donuts and cake!
There are many pages on this website that explain how to eat well. You will find links to some of those pages at the bottom of this page.
Eating well means eating smaller meals more frequently than usual. It means ingesting plenty of fats and proteins from natural sources. It means restricting carbohydrate intake and, except for an occasional treat, eliminating all refined processed carbohydrates. And so on.
Especially if you are also doing fat loss workouts, it’s also important to drink plenty of clean water, at least 2 or 3 quarts daily.
You may think that the best fat loss workouts are mild cardio workouts such as brisk walking, but that’s not true.
Some intense cardio workouts are excellent fat loss workouts. If you do not now do any cardio and are ready to begin, we recommend starting with GXP. You will find the link awaiting you at the bottom of this page.
That already may seem frightening, but it’s not.
How does 9 minutes per week sound?
It actually only involves 9 minutes of exercise weekly!
(If you want an even higher degree of fitness, just increase your three GXP work times up to 10 minutes each. If you then want even more fitness, we recommend switching to high intensity interval training or P.A.C.E. for your 3, brief weekly cardio sessions.)
Let’s assume, though, that you are not doing any cardio as fat loss workouts. Should you begin doing them?
Although it’s important to obtain your physician’s blessing in advance before starting any exercise program, it might be best for you to start with strength training rather than with any kind of cardio (including mild cardio like brisk walking).
There are two reasons for this.
Will it be strength training or cardio?
First, you may be too heavy to do even mild cardio. It may cause more problems than it cures.
Second, cardio workouts are not as effective fat loss workouts as strength training. (Some bodybuilders never do cardio.)
Surprised? The critical fact is that, the greater your quantity of lean muscle, the more calories you will burn 24 hours a day. Even doing a lot of mild cardio won’t help you increase your quantity of lean muscle.
Why? Since mild cardio burns a lot of fat (after about 20 minutes or so of exercising), doing it several times weekly will train your body to store fat for your next exercise session!
Since your amount of lean muscle correlates to your strength, by using effective strength training as fat loss workouts you’ll automatically increase your metabolic rate. Intense cardio will also increase your quantity of lean muscle.
There are several wholly different kinds of weight lifting or resistance training. Here we provide you with a sample of the best kind for increasing strength, which, again, is the best kind for increasing lean muscle.
Incidentally, it is not easy to increase your quantity of lean muscle significantly. You are not going to start any kind of weight lifting program and look like an advanced bodybuilder in a few months!
If you are female, unless you take anabolic steroids, you are never going to develop large muscles. All that will happen is that you’ll become more shapely as you lose body fat and slightly increase your amount of lean muscle.
It’s important to warm-up properly.
We cover this elsewhere on our website. We also cover all the relevant terminology as well as safety.
What are the best fat loss workouts?
The best fat loss workouts are strength training workouts that use the basic compound exercises, namely, squats, deadlifts, presses, rows, dips, and chins.
There is no one best workout. Here, though, is a pattern of workouts that is very effective.
Do just two training sessions each week. At each training session, you’ll focus on getting stronger on just one exercise. After warming up, you’ll do 3 sets of 5 reps on that one exercise. [See below.] In addition, you’ll do some auxiliary exercises for that exercise. That’s it!
You’ll do a two week cycle. Select two primarily lower body exercises and two primarily upper body exercises. Let’s suppose you select squats, bench presses, deadlifts, and seated military presses.
The first workout of the first week will focus on squats. The second workout of the first week will focus on bench presses. The first workout of the second week will focus on deadlifts. The second workout of the second week will focus on seated military presses.
To figure out how much weight to use, you’ll need to determine your one rep maximum in each of the four lifts. (Take one or two workouts to determine that.) Then take 80% of that number.
Suppose, for example, the most weight you are able to do for one rep on deadlifts is 200 lbs. 80% of that is 160 pounds. So how much should you use for your 3 sets?
Use 60% for your first set, 80% for your second set, and 90% for your third set.
So, to continue with the same example, since 60% of 160 is 96 pounds, that is the weight you’d use for your first set of 5 reps. (It’s fine to round it down to 95.) Since 128 is 80% of 160, that’s what you’d use for your second set of 5 reps. (It’s fine to round it up to 130). Since 144 is 90% of 160, that’s what you’d use for your third and final set. (It’s fine to round it up to 145.)
Please don’t limit yourself to just 5 reps on your third set.
Give it everything you have and do as many reps as possible. You don’t have to fail on your last rep, but go just short of failure. (For safety, on squats and deadlifts always keep one rep in you.)
Once you are able to do 10 or more reps on your third set, assume that your one rep max has gone up 5 pounds. Use that higher number (205 lbs. in the example) to recalculate your poundages for your next deadlift workout. In this way, you will progressively get stronger.
Once you have done your 3 work sets for your primary exercise, it’s a good idea to do some supplemental work. For example, you might do a couple of sets on chins, dips, back raises, core exercises such as crunches, leg presses, and lunges.
You are now not just armed with four effective fat loss workouts, you now have a pattern for twice-a-week strength training sessions that provides you with years of effective fat loss workouts.
Remember, though, that you don’t grow in the gym. What you do in the gym should stimulate growth. This is why eating well and sufficient recovery and rest are critical.
We also recommend (2 or) 3 brief sessions of GXP or other intense cardio weekly. This brief amount of cardio will not interfere with your strength gains and it promotes rapid fat loss.
We suggest a fat loss goal of 1 pound weekly, which is the equivalent of 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of weight loss. If you also eat and rest well, this program will enable you to achieve that.
Enjoy your new strength and improved health!
Web pages relating to fat loss workouts
There are many pages on this website that explain how to eat well. Below you will find links to some of the pages relating to the best dietary approach to fat loss. Use the dietary approach in conjunction with your fat loss workouts. Below is also the link to the GXP (intense fitness exercise) page.
If you enjoyed this fat loss workouts page and would like to do some additional reading, please see our best self-help books page. It's listed on the menu bar.
Here are some initial suggestions:
Jim Wendler, 5/3/1
Sears, Dr. Sears' High Speed Fat Loss in 7 Easy Steps
Sears, P.A.C.E.
Stuart McRobert, Build Muscle Lose Fat Look Great
M. Lauen & J. Clark, You Are Your Own Gym
You should be able to borrow these books from your local library if you don't want to buy them.
If you are looking for something in particular in relation to fat loss, here you can FAST SEARCH our website or the World Wide Web.
